Islamabad: Pakistan’s intelligence agencies came under heavy criticism from global human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday, a year after journalist Saleem Shahzad’s abduction and assassination near the Pakistani capital.
In a statement issued on the Anniversary of Saleem Shahzad, Amnesty International said that Pakistan must take urgent steps to bring Shahzad’s killers to justice and properly investigate claims of intimidation against journalists, including by intelligence services.
“Shahzad’s killing last year highlighted the perils faced by journalists in Pakistan,” said Polly Truscott, South Asia director at Amnesty International.
The journalist’s body, bearing marks of torture, was found near Mandi Bahauddin, 130 kilometres southeast of Islamabad – two days after his disappearance on May 29, 2011.
“Pakistan remains one of the most dangerous countries for media workers with at least three journalists killed in the past five months. Last year, at least six lost their lives,” said Truscott.
Two days prior to his abduction, Shahzad had published an article, alleging that Navy personnel sympathetic to Al Qaeda had facilitated an attack at a Pakistan Naval base.
In October 2010, Shahzad had told colleagues that he felt he had been threatened by the ISI for his reporting on Al Qaeda infiltration into Pakistan’s armed forces.
A government-appointed commission had investigated Shahzad’s murder, but was unable to identify his killers.
“There was a sophisticated, well-organised attempt by Shahzad’s killers to cover their tracks – all the more reason why Pakistan’s intelligence services, and especially the ISI, must be thoroughly investigated,” Truscott insisted.
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